The Chemist
by kelsoei
Summary: The Fire Nation was, without question, the most powerful country in the history of the world. The question is why. Not because of the power of the royal family, or its armies, but the mind of an unparalleled genius. Follow the story of The Mechanist, from his beginnings as a humble Air Nomad to his rise as an evil chemist whose inventions could destroy the world... Or save it. AU
1. Chapter 1

Father's eyes darted back and forth between Daeshim and his two sisters, Cimba and Zonpa. Soft badly tuned murmurs came from Father's mouth. He always hummed when he got nervous. Why had he called them all into the living room? To have one of his patented family talks? Had the Fire Nation finally come? Was Gaipan going to fall? Or was it something else...a family matter perhaps? Mother laid an arm on Father's shoulder.

"We're moving," said Mother.

Ahh. Of course. The Fire Nation was here. Or perhaps not here, but worryingly close. They'd taken Makapu last year, so they'd probably conquered Taku. That was close. Really close. Only a week's walk.

"What?" Cinba asked. "No! We can't move."

"I'm sorry," said Mother.

"But what about all my friends?" Cinba asked, stomping her foot on the stone ground. "I'll never… I don't want to leave it's not fair!"

Zonpa's little eyes started to well up with tears, her lips quivered, and she started to cry-to wail. It was horrible.

"It's okay," Daeshim wrapped his baby sisters in a hug. "Everything is gonna be okay. We're Air Nomads Cinba. Moving is in our blood."

"No!" Cinba screamed, punching Daeshim's shoulder. "I don't wanna, I don't wanna, I DON"T WANNA!"

Daeshim pulled away. "Where do we live Cinba?" He held his sister's gaze, until her red face calmed.

"Gaipan."

"And you know Taku? The place Grandfather sometimes visits? How long does it take him to get there and back again?"

"Three weeks."

"The Fire Nation has taken Taku. How long do you think it will take them to get here?"

Cinba paled. She ran to her room, and started to pack. Daeshim's lips pulled upwards. That was a more appropriate response.

No. He must've missed something. Mother frowned and Father refused to look at him. He'd done something very wrong. He'd lied to his sister. Taku hadn't fallen.

"Father," Daeshim dipped his head respectfully. "Will you tell me why we're moving?"

Father mumbled something under his breath.

"The world can be a complicated place," said Mother. "And sometimes people just need a fresh start."

Daeshim frowned. Father ran the most successful dye shop in all of Gaipan. It was quite a feat for an Air Nomad to own his own business, some would say it was ostentatious. The other Air Nomads in the city hated Father's success. They gave him funny looks, and whispered cruel words behind his back. Well screw them. Daeshim was proud of his father. If he wanted to move to a larger city to expand his business he had Daeshim's full support.

"So where are we going? Gaoling? They're rich there. We'll do well."

"No," Father murmured, eyes still downcast.

"Omashu? I suppose it is closer."

"No," Father whispered. "Capital City."

"We're moving to Ba Sing Se?" Daeshim asked, failing to hide his smile. "I'll help with the shop all I can Father! I've seen all the travelers and nobody dies a more vibrant blue than you! We can do this!"

Father shook his head. "We're moving to the Fire Nation son."

Ah of course… Wait what? But the Fire Nation had killed their people! They'd slaughtered the Avatar when he was a child! The Fire Nation was evil! The second they walked on their soil they'd be burned alive. Everyone knew that. No… Daeshim understood. Yes, that must be it.

"We're to be spies," Daeshim said. "We'll avenge our ancestors!"

Father said nothing.

Mother sighed. "No. We'll be dying clothes there. Just like here."

Yes. That's what they'd say if they were spies. Daeshim understood. It was the only explanation. Father was a good man, he wouldn't risk the lives of his family for some silly reason.

"Someday," Father said. "When you're older than nine, I'll tell you the truth. Perhaps you'll understand then, although I doubt it. For now, you'll just have to trust me. We have to move son, if we want our family to stay together. That's the only thing that matters."

No. The truth was the only thing that mattered.

"How long until we move?" Daeshim asked.

"An hour," Father said.

Daeshim ran into the streets of Gaipan. He heard his parents shouting after him. They need not worry. He was a good son. He'd be back in time. But in that last hour he'd find the truth, because suddenly he was uncertain. He'd always assumed that the other Air Nomads hated Father for his success, but what if it were for some other reason? What was Father's secret?

Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Please like, follow, or review if you enjoyed the chapter. This story will be updated every Thursday night or Friday morning.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: I forgot to mention this in the summary, but this story takes place in same universe as my other story The Last Firebender. You can think of it as a prequel.

Wangpo sat on the mud wall, staring down at Daeshim, her feet dangling over the edge. "Well… Maybe I do know something, but… You know? I could really use some cookies."

Forty minutes until he had to go. Wangpo had been the first of his cousins he'd been able to find and was the oldest of their generation. If anyone knew why mild-mannered Father was so despised, it would be her.

"If I make you cookies, you'll tell me then?" Asked Daeshim. "On your honor as an Air Nomad?"

It was too bad he didn't have any paper. Contracts needed to be written and signed to be legally binding. A verbal agreement could be easily broken.

"Sure." Wangpo giggled and smirked.

"On your honor as an Air Nomad?"

"On my honor." Wangpo scowled.

"As an Air Nomad."

"On my honor as an Air Nomad," Wangpo frowned. "I'll miss you Sheemy. It sucks that your parents didn't even ask you how you felt about moving."

Daeshim shook his head. He wouldn't talk back to Wangpo, she was his elder and it wasn't his place, but his parents knew what they were doing. Father was a wise man. That's why he ran the most successful dye shop in the city. Father knew what he was doing. He must.

Daeshim ran into Wangpo's house and started collecting supplies from various cupboards: granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, sodium bicarbonate, flour, and a tiny bit of processed cacao. All measured in precise quantities, and mixed in a bowl with an unfertilized egg and a half cup of butter. He ran to the back of the house, collected four logs of wood, and set a fire in the brick oven. He sprinkled some flour onto the oven's base, and counted for seven heart beats. Still white. Not enough wood. He tossed another log onto the fire, and tried the flour again. This time it browned. He hated the oven, so imprecise, he'd heard from travelers that some ovens in the Fire Nation ran on natural gas, and could set a repeatable temperature.

"You're so weird Daeshim," Wangpo said, giving him a bucket of dirty river water. "Mother never does all this when she cooks. She just throws things together, and adjusts until everything looks right."

Daeshim tried not to scoff, as he filled an old bucket to a cut with a 'c' next to it. He set the water near the wall, and let it leak. Cooking took to long to be counted by heart beats. "That works for her. This works for me." Father had always warned him against following his Aunt's artsy fartsy ways. Sure sometimes it worked well, but for repeatable results you had to record every step of your process.

"Where's the fun in doing the exact same thing, over and over?" Asked Wangpo. "You're like a robot."

Once you could repeat your results you could change them. Some changes were good. Some were bad. This led to optimization. That was why Father was the best dyer in the city. Repeatable processes.

"You're thinking something weird aren't you?" Wangpo rolled her eyes. "I can pull the cookies out of the oven myself. When the bucket runs out of water right?"

"Yes."

"C'mere then, let me tell you your parent's dirty little secret. Why your father is so ashamed he's trying to move to a place nobody knows him."

Daeshim leaned in, until he could feel his cousins warm, moist, sour breath on his neck.

"The truth is they're cousins."

Daeshim blushed and pulled away. "That doesn't make sense! You're just making things up! I knew I should've made you sign a contract!"

"I know right?" Wangpo laughed. "You're a nice kid Daeshim, but I'd never look at you that way."

"Why would they be moving because they don't have two sons?"

"That isn't what I said." Wangpo dropped her smile. "It isn't your fault Daeshim. There's no need to be ashamed of who you are."

But Daeshim was already running. Already crying. Why would Father want another son? What had he done wrong? Why did Father want to replace him? How would going to the Fire Nation even help with that? Nothing made sense anymore.

But of course, in the back of his brilliant mind, Daeshim still understood the world in exacting clarity and one small detail was undeniable: His father wasn't perfect.

Author's Note: As always, thanks for reading. If you enjoyed the chapter please like, follow, or subscribe. 


	3. Chapter 3

The wall was made of paper. It was a natural tan color, same as wood, completely unbleached or dyed. Perhaps… Daeshim smacked his lips and shook his head. It'd been a long, unproductive day and the hard wooden desk he'd been in for hours was growing more uncomfortable by the heart beat.

His family had moved to the Fire Nation and they hadn't been burned alive as his little sister Cinba had feared. They'd barely been noticed. The merchant they'd travelled with had shown them their new house, been paid, and had been on his way. There had been a lot of Air Nomads around them, nobody from the Fire Nation to speak of. The neighborhood was nicer than that in Gaipan, the houses larger the streets cleaner, but it still looked like a hovel compared with the rest of the city.

Father had sent him here. To school. A place where he was to learn grammar, which was utterly obvious to anyone who'd ever read a book, politics, which he'd have no say in whatsoever, logic, which was self evident to any dimwit, and a weird language called mathematics and some strange philosophy called science. He'd taken half the classes already and the teachers were all imbeciles. They taught every class so slowly, taking circuitous routes to arrive at blatantly predictable points. That was when they didn't say something that was obviously wrong.

"Which was when the Fire Nation squashed the Air Nomad's third attempt to assassinate Fire Lord Roku. Their radical beliefs, most central of all the idea of martyrdom- that you go to an eternal paradise when you sacrifice your life to destroy the non-believers- coupled with the fact that they were indoctrinating the Avatar himself, is why we were forced to do what we had to," said the teacher gravely. He was a short man with golden eyes and sweat dripping off his second chin.

"You're wrong!" Cried a pretty girl with gray eyes and a long braided ponytail. Another Air Nomad. Daeshim thought he recognized her. She must've been from his neighborhood. "The Air Nomad religion is peaceful! It teaches us- them- that it's always wrong to hurt another living being. They were vegetarians for karma's sake. They'd never try to assassinate anyone!"

The teacher's smile went all the way to his eyes. "Are you calling me a liar?"

"Yes," said the unbelievably stupid girl.

The teacher showed his teeth, and gave the girl some rope to hang herself with. "But why else would the Fire Nation bother attacking the Air Temples then?"

"Because you were afraid of the Ava-"

"Because they had access to a weapon of mass destruction," Daeshim interrupted. "The Air Nomads were powerless on their own. They didn't have the technology of the Fire Nation, their people were weak, lazy, and prone to 'bouts of violence. An inferior people. But seeing the wealth of the Fire Nation, they'd grown jealous, and their normally peaceful religion fell to more radicalized beliefs. You can see that they'd been training assassins in the attacks. Some of my people still hold those beliefs, and sing stories of the warrior monk Gyatso, who managed to take down a platoon of soldiers by himself. How could he have done that if the Temples were just a place to find enlightenment? The truth is that they were military bases. You're right Lee, the Fire Nation was afraid of the Avatar. As they should have been. Our people had been training him to overthrow the Fire Nation, so we could steal their wealth for ourselves. You've got to get over your bitterness. Our people lost. We weren't as good as the Fire Nation. But the truth is when the Fire Nation wins, when the Fire Nation is allowed to rule, life is better for everybody. Look at us. We're no longer starving. We're educated. We're living a much better life than we would have if our people still had independence."

"You? You're a?" The pretty girl's face turned as red as an overripe tomato. "Traitor! I'm telling everyone in the neighborhood about how you're not a true Air Nomad!"

And she ran out of the classroom, probably to go home and make good on her threats. They'd believe her. He'd lived with Air Nomads his entire life and most of them were as dumb as a pile of rocks, just as stupid as those from the Earth Kingdom, and if these classes were any indication, the Fire Nation too. But when he went home and explained to his parents what had happened, Father would be proud of him. He'd saved that girl from commiting treason and in the process saved her life. Daeshim sighed. It wasn't worth it. He should've let her hang herself. Maybe he was a bad person, but he cared what people thought of him. He wanted to be liked. Reputation was more important than integrity.

"What's your name son?" Asked the teacher, staring at Daeshim.

"It's Daeshim sir."

The teacher shook his head and tut-tutted. "We'll have to get you a proper Fire Nation name Daeshim. I don't want your heritage holding you back. I have no doubt that you're the most intelligent student in this room. Your rhetoric is outstanding. Much better than anyone here. Don't you agree?"

Daeshim froze. All eyes on him. If he agreed he'd offend the other students. If he denied he'd be disagreeing with the teacher. An authority figure. "Of course sir. Thank you sir."

The teacher gave him a nasty grin, and whispered, "Which question do you think those retards assume you answered?"

"It depends on where they're from sir."

The teacher laughed and dismissed the class.

During lunch he was avoided by both the Air Nomads and Fire Nation children. All alone. In a foreign country. Surrounded on all sides by enemies. When the bell finally rang, and the students were herded into another prison cell, Daeshim couldn't wait to get home, and explain to his parents why he simply couldn't return to such a horrible place.

No.

It wouldn't work. Father didn't care about him anymore. That's what Wangpo had told him right, that his father wanted another son? That's why Daeshim had been sent here. Father was no fool. He knew the Fire Nation was prejudiced. He'd known what a nightmare it would be for Daeshim. He just didn't care. Nobody did.

A tall stern woman dressed in Fire Nation red swept into the room. She had a joyless look, with big dark bags under her eyes. "What is x?" She wrote an equation on the blackboard: 4x-8=12.

"Five," Daeshim said bitterly. "And if you don't mind me asking, what does this have to do with anything?"

"You're new here?" The teacher asked, blushing. "I'm sorry but I don't recognize you."

"Yes Ma'am."

"So you've gone over this in your old school? Maybe we can send you to a more advanced class-" the teacher frowned. "How'd you solve it?"

"Isn't it obvious? If you plug five in for x,the equation works."

"Oh I see, you're really smart but you don't know anything." She wrote another equation on the blackboard: 2x+10=5x+8.

"X is three halves," Daeshim said, bored. Mathematics was a waste of time. At least it had numbers, but it was still obvious and dull.

The teacher raised an eyebrow. "Where you from dude?"

"Um, Ember Island," Daeshim lied. He really hoped she didn't ask him any questions about the place. If it got out he was from the Earth Kingdom that would be the end of him and all his family.

"I see," said the teacher. "See me after class. I gotta talk to you about something, but for now solve this problem." She wrote another equation down: 5-8=?

And Daeshim realized he couldn't. Why couldn't he? It was an easy question, he could tell.

The other students started to giggle.

The teacher drew a line on the blackboard, and explained the concept of negative numbers.

It was quite simply the most beautiful thing in the world.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed the chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

"What'd you want to talk to me about?" Daeshim asked the Instructor brazenly. Maybe she was an authority figure, but the air she gave off kinda coaxed him into a sense of security. He felt like he could be honest. Straight forward.

"What's your name dude?"

"Daeshim."

"Nope," said the Instructor. "That won't work. How 'bout Aida? That's the man who discovered algebra, I can't think of a cooler name than that."

"Um…"

"C'mon dude, everyone'll look at you funny if you've got a weird name. This is your home now. The sooner you accept it the better off you'll be."

"... I don't see what good it'll do, everyone will still know I'm an Air Nomad. I'll just be alienating the only people who'd ever accept me."

The Instructor hopped out of the seat next to him, and started scribbling equations onto the blackboard.

2x+4=-2

-4 -4

2x=-6

/2 /2

x=-3

"Does that make sense?" She asked. "Now you do it."

4x-6=-16

Daeshim studied the example problem carefully. She didn't just want him to blurt out that the answer was negative five-halves, she wanted him to solve it using her method. Which was smart, Daeshim realized, because this language had principles to be learned. Valuable quantitative principles. He took the piece of chalk and cancelled out the minus six by adding six to both sides. Then he divided both sides by four to arrive at the answer.

The Instructor cheered. "Great job dude! Those two inverse properties normally take students two weeks to learn."

"So?" Daeshim asked. "I'm smart. What does that get me? I'm still an Air Nomad in the Fire Nation. A smart Air Nomad keeps his head low and doesn't-"

"That's a bunch of bullshit," The Instructor interrupted crossly. "Keep your head low. Don't stand out. I've heard it all before." The Instructor smiled. "I've got a puzzle for you Aida. You think you can solve it?"

Daeshim nodded and the Instructor threw him a ball.

"Choose two points on the sphere dude, how can you arrange 'em so they're farthest apart?"

Easy. Two poles.

"Now three points."

Make a triangle out of the circular cross section. Still easy.

The Instructor nodded. "This is where things start to get interesting. What if you've got four points?"

A square. No. That wouldn't work. A triangular pyramid would be better. Yes, with four vertices you could finally create a three dimensional shape. With all equal faces.

The Instructor grinned. "Five? Six? Seven? One hundred and twenty seven? X times?"

Daeshim frowned. Five would be a double sided pyramid. Six an octahedron. After that he had no clue. It shouldn't bother him. Not to know. It didn't. What bothered him, no intrigued him, was that he could figure it out. All he had to do was learn. "Well? What's the answer?"

"Our leading scientists are working on a solution. This model allows us to mathematically predict the energy level of an electron shell."

"What's an electron shell?"

"It's the part of an atom which can interact with other atoms. The interaction of electrons is called Chemistry."

Chemistry huh? Daeshim was… He was… Smitten. What Father did, recording exact processes and improving upon them, was rudimentary and archaic compared to what the Instructor was showing him.

Was this what mathematics was? Truth?

The Instructor must've known she had him.

"Let me ask you this dude, why is the Fire Nation punking the hell out of the Earth Kingdom after a millennia of being a small island nation nobody cared about?"

"They've got metal ships," said Daeshim stubbornly. Inside he knew the answer. The Instructor had just shown him their super weapon: Science. "You can use fire anywhere, so their benders can be effective anywhere."

"Wrong and super wrong," said the Instructor. "They've always had fire bending, but the truth is it's a weak element. It's a bad matchup against waterbenders, and earthbenders can fortify anywhere they live. That whole _all the elements are equal_ is a bunch of garbage. It goes earth, water, then fire, then probably air, but I'm not really familiar with what airbenders could do."

"Well that's debatable-"

"And the metal ships. That's closer, but the Earth Kingdom could build a metal ship. It might be hard for 'em, but you don't need science and math to build a prototype. Just test and fidget a bunch of rivets together and you'll get one eventually."

"Then why?" Asked Daeshim, and he was surprised to find that he was genuinely curious. He no longer wanted to go home. The Instructor was interesting.

"It's economics dude. Math allows you to create precise instructions to build one ship. Science allows you to tweak the instructions to build the best ship. Engineering and business allows you to build a thousand ships cheaply."

Maybe. No, it was probably true. Math, the language of rationality, and science, its philosophy had turned the Fire Nation into a super power. It was obvious. The houses here were nicer than anything he'd seen anywhere, but were all uniform, built with the same material using the same techniques. Same with the roads, the clothes, even the blackboard and the chalk. However nothing she'd said suggested that the Fire Nation would ever grow more tolerant.

"But nothing about this is secret. There's nothing here that can't be copied. The Earth Kingdom will eventually combat science with science. Then their superior numbers and element will turn the war, and the Fire Nation is gonna get desperate. And when this happens, both sides are gonna get desperate. They'll want the best scientists, the best businessmen, the best engineers. It'll change the world into a meritocracy Aida. A place where who you are matters more than what you are."

She smiled. "Aida, you are a genius. The days when you needed to be a bender to change the world are over. The best thing you can do for yourself, and _our_ people," gray eyes met gray, "Is to be the best person you can be. That means learning all the math and science you can and making something of yourself. Don't settle Aida. Be great."

Aida found himself nodding. Belonging. Maybe not with the Air Nomads, maybe not with the Fire Nation, but with the mathematicians. The scientists. For the first time in his life he had a purpose.


	5. Chapter 5

School was good. Or fun. In a manner of speaking. Well, the instructor was droning on and on about balancing redox reactions which was tedious- who didn't know what happened when aluminum and iron oxide were mixed- but that was beside the point. School, first and foremost, was an opportunity for a better life. Aida's ancestors had been forced to choke down mystical mumbo jumbo, and the Royal Fire Nation Academy actually taught sweet rational science. And chemistry! Oh chemistry! Truly a wonder. What a treat to be born in the here and now, to be a part of the greatest country to ever exist, to possibly contribute to the glorious expansion of the motherland!

"Zhao," The Instructor barked. "You paying attention?"

"Yes sir," Zhao said confidently. Aida smiled. Zhao was a good kid, and more importantly, the son of a respected admiral. There was no doubt that when the boy became a man he would do great things. Such science lectures were unimportant to Zhao, which was why Aida let him copy his homework and cheat off him during exams. There was no sense making Zhao deal with such nonsense!

"No you weren't," The Instructor scowled. "What triggers a thermite reaction? What type of reaction is it? Why do we care?"

"Lit magnesium. Exothermic. Melts metal," Aida whispered to Zhao.

"Magnesium. Exothermic. And it can be used to melt metal," Zhao spat. "Your name Instructor? I'd like to inform my father of your false accusation against my honor."

"You're a disgrace Zhao," The Instructor said. "Cowering behind your father like a weak snivelling girl. If you want to challenge me, challenge me. I'd gladly accept an Agni Kai with you."

Zhao shrank into his desk.

"You've got no pride Zhao." The Instructor drawled. "You're even less of a man than that little pet you keep around."

"I don't keep him around," Zhao protested. "He just follows me."

Aida's smile flickered. There were parts of school he didn't like as much… Parts of the Fire Nation which could be… Difficult. But that did not change the fact that it was the best country in the world.

"Yes well," The Instructor shook his head. "Be careful Zhao. His kind may seem harmless, but they'll stab you in the back if given the opportunity. Do not forget that he is not one of us. I do not understand why the Fire Lord decided to allow women and animals into this institution, but be careful. That goes for all of you boys. Your fathers have placed their trust in me to take care of you, but I cannot protect you from those two."

Aida would pay for his… Well he wasn't really sure what he'd done, or why his people were so hated, but nonetheless he knew he'd pay for this. But school was… School was… School was great! Instruction resumed, and Aida was given the wonderful opportunity to learn about several new elements. Nitrogen. Hydrogen. And some of the compounds made up of both like Ammonia for example, which was found and imported in high quantities from the Southern Archipelagos!

"Can you believe him?" Michi asked bitterly, after classes had ended.

"Hmm, um, yes," said Aida distractedly, flipping through one of Fire Lord Sozin's old texts, where he derived the orbit of a comet using three elegant mathematical laws. He only had about ten more minutes before he had to return home and help his father with his stupid dye shop… That wasn't fair. Dyes were quite fascinating. An honorable line of work. He shouldn't let his feelings towards one color the other.

"Women and animals? Really? We're two of the brightest students in the school! If that bastard could get his head halfway out of his ass maybe we'd be able to learn a thing or two from his classes. Then we wouldn't have to spend our time looking over old scrolls."

"Mmm," Aida said. "Yes. Completely agree."

"That was totally inappropriate! I'm a good student, and you've got the best grades the school has ever-"

"Hey Daeshim!" Zhao said, looming over the picnic table Aida and Michi had been sharing. Two associates stood by Zhao's side, and Aida couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. What he wouldn't give to be a part of Zhao's inner circle. To truly be connected with the Fire Nation elite. "You think you're a real hot-man don'chya?"

"It's Aida," Aida corrected mildly, putting down his scroll.

"It's Daeshim," Zhao smirked. "You're not fooled by this animal are you miss, uh…"

Michi didn't speak. She blushed and turned away. As was proper of a Fire Nation Lady. Aida could have given Zhao her name, but it was not his place to correct a superior.

"Your name?" Zhao scowled, igniting a fist.

Michi said nothing. Aida said nothing. They weren't stupid.

"Um, sir," said the stupider of Zhao's associates. "Her name is-"

Zhao silenced the man with a slap. "Agni Ukano! Like I care. She's just a woman."

Ukano fell to the ground, where he stayed. Unmoving. Bright red blisters scarred his cheek. Michi's eyes started to well. Clever, but a man like Zhao wouldn't be moved by a woman's tears.

"Listen girl," Zhao said slowly, like he was savoring the sound of his own voice. "This boy you're with is really… Well haven't you noticed? Doesn't he seem a little attached to money? A little sneaky? Haven't you ever wondered why he looks so ugly, and why his eyes are gray?"

Michi nodded slowly.

"You're a bit plain," Zhao said, reaching down to caress her chin.

Factually incorrect. Michi was a tall elegant woman, with dark silky hair and beautiful golden eyes. Independent, loud, and fiery she reminded Aida of his old Instructor.

"And you've got strange masculine interests, but you're still a Fire Nation lady. Surely you can do better than him?"

Michi blushed. "It's not like that."

Zhao chortled, and petted her head. "Of course it's not darling. I don't know what came over me to suspect such a ridiculous thing. As if the little Nomad could ever find a woman who'd spread her legs for him." He shook his head and walked away. His remaining associate followed after him.

"He's such an ass," Ukano said once Zhao was out of sight, miraculously able to move again. "Sorry about that Daeshim. It's not really because you're an Air Nomad either. It's cuz you're a prodigy and Zhao's jealous. Deep down he knows the truth: that he's an ordinary bender with a dull mind."

"It's Aida," Aida corrected, through grit teeth. "And I'd watch your tongue. Zhao will be a powerful man one day. He'll do great things for the Fire Nation. He deserves our respect."

Ukano shared a look with Michi. It was an expression Aida had seen many times, but for all his genius, couldn't quite decipher.

"Of course Aida," said Ukano, his voice obviously false. Obviously hiding something… Something just beyond Aida's reach. Hiding… A truth… A truth that Aida couldn't quite grasp.

Or perhaps didn't want to.


	6. Chapter 6

"Where'd you get those bruises?" Father demanded. "You got in another fight?"

"No. I would never go against your teachings Father." Aida tried not to roll his eyes. Like it mattered. Like Father didn't already know exactly what had happened. "Besides… If I ever punched back I'd be expelled."

"Monsters," Father grumbled, as he used a pair of clamps to pull a shirt out of a dying vat. He clipped it on a line to dry. It was a brilliant blue, a more vibrant hue than any of the other diers in the Capital could accomplish. Father had always been intelligent, and Aida had great respect for the man professionally. "It's only a matter of time before they turn on us Daeshim. It always is for our people. Someday we'll leave this place. Someday we'll have a country of our own."

And why would they do that? The Fire Nation was changing. Soon it would no longer be about who you were, but rather what you could do. Aida wouldn't have to hide his heritage much longer. This was where they belonged. Here, in the center of the known world.

"Listen son," Father said seriously. "An Air Nomad who thinks he's found a home isn't long for this world. It's right there in the name isn't it?"

But names didn't have any inherent value. They couldn't be measured, they didn't change a thing's physical properties, rather they were arbitrarily assigned for the purpose of categorization. An argument that relied on names was rather poor.

Father winced. "That is a weak argument isn't it? How 'bout this then: they slaughtered all of our airbenders a hundred years ago. They tried to systematically wipe our people off the face of the planet."

So had the Earth Kingdom two hundred years before that, and the Fire Nation a few hundred years before that, and even a particularly nasty Water Tribe Chief before that. The Air Nomads had been historically oppressed by every other group in the world. But that was because they'd always been The Other. Air Nomads like Father didn't realize the part their people had played in their own oppression. If you wanted to coexist with a local population you had to assimilate into their culture. You couldn't go around spouting ridiculous sounding names like Daeshim, you had to try and fit in, change your name to something more respectable.

"But you don't respect history do you?" Father shook his head. "Everything has to be factual with you doesn't it?"

Aida considered carefully. He could confide in Father. He could tell him about recent census data, which showed great economic success within the Air Nomad population. He could show him a survey taken recently, which showed that thirty percent of Fire Nation families would accept a marriage proposal from an Air Nomad suitor, given that they were in good social standing. He could point to his own acceptance into the Royal Fire Nation Academy. But of course he would not mention any of that. It was not his place to disagree with a superior. "Not at all. I understand your concerns Father. Really, I do."

Father scowled. "I don't understand how someone so smart can be so stupid. How you can't see what's right in front of your face. Well," Father chuckled. "On your face."

Aida traced his black eye and said nothing. Revealed nothing. Other people, who thought they were smarter than him, had always been wrong. Except perhaps… Aida knew that someday he'd meet another who could see things he could not, but that somebody certainly wasn't Father.

Father studied him for a moment, examined him as closely as he was capable, and sighed. "Each age, since the beginning of time, has had an Avatar to guide our people towards enlightenment."

Aida knew it was not his place to speak. To correct Father of his religious suppositions. But… But… "Several rocks have been dated as far back as four billion years. Human remains have only been found as far back as a few million-"

"I'm not some fool who believe our teachings are literal Daeshim," Father said, slamming his hand against the dying vat. "The teaching are the collected wisdom of the most intelligent of our…"

Aida had no doubt that there had been several Air Nomads in the past who were vastly more intelligent than he could ever dream of being. That they had held and had tried to share priceless morsels of wisdom with their followers. But the thing was, religion was a fallacious philosophy. Great ideas and insights were often narrow, and were reliant on specific conditions to be correctly applied. Since these conditions were never stated, applying religious dogma to one's own life often led to several problems, as interpreting which anecdote to follow could be quite difficult.

"... And that is why religion still has value despite not always being literally true," Father said, obviously very pleased with his mind's ability to delude itself. "Take the creation story for example. According to Air Nomad Monks, the world goes through an endless cycle of creation and decay, and a new Avatar appears in each world age to teach Air Nomad principles. Legend says that one of these Avatars, Amitabha, ordered a bodhisattva named Avalokitesvara to bring our beliefs to the mountains. At the time, only animals and spirits lived there. Avalokitesvara thus produced a monkey and sent it to meditate. The monkey was approached by a female spirit in the form of a beautiful woman, who offered to be his wife. The two had children, but they were covered with hair and had tails. Avalokitesvara sent the children to a forest to mate with other monkeys. He returned a year later and discovered many offspring. When Avalokitesvara gave these creatures food they turned into human beings, and he was then able to convert them to our way of life."

So the moral of the story was that all Air Nomads came from a monkey fornicating with a spirit? It could very easily be disproven. Monkeys and humans could not produce fertile offspring when they reproduced with one another. It had been proven in several peer reviewed studies. And just like that the whole story was useless. At least now. In the past, it provided an explanation of where they came from to his ancestors. In the absence of actual answers, even fiction had value, but now they knew better. "Father, have you heard of the Theory of Evolution?"

"By the Avatar, it's like talking to a wall," Father complained. "Listen here Daeshim. I'm going to be very clear on this. One day, you'll need to leave this country. Abandon it. Promise me you will."

"If the day ever comes that the Fire Nation turns on my people," Aida said, smirking. "I will happily leave it. A country like that wouldn't deserve my loyalty."

What he didn't say was that his people were the scientists, the inventors, the engineers, and the doctors of the world. People who used science to accomplish their will.

"Good," Father said, some hesitation still in his voice. "Now prime these pants for dieing."

Aida nodded, and dumped them into a vat of vinegar. Together they dyed them blue. Together, as father and son, they worked on something they could finally agree on.


	7. Chapter 7

"Do any of you spoiled brats even know why we're fighting this war?" The Instructor asked, drumming his fingers against a map of the world.

Nobody dared say a word. Aida felt the weight of the classroom on his shoulders, and their eyes weren't even on him. Of course not. When things got tough people turned to those who possessed strength and charisma, the natural leaders of the world. Zhao.

But Zhao was silent. He shrank and squirmed in his seat.

"Pathetic," The Instructor barked. "Your generation is weak, soft, and undisciplined. Perhaps that is why the Fire Lord has allowed women and animals into this Institution. Because he knows all the boys in this school are puss-"

"The Fire Nation fights to share our technology and wealth with the rest of the world," said a young man, leaning against the classroom's only door like he owned the place. Who did he think he was, interrupting the Instructor in the middle of an important lecture? The man was big. Wide. Full of fat and muscle. And he had two gaudy sideburns. How dare he show such disresp-

The Instructor bowed. "Prince Iroh. It's an honor. What brings you to my humble classroom?"

"You've sparked my interest though," the handsome Prince said, casually displaying his dominance by completely disregarding the Instructor's question. "Every child in the Fire Nation knows why we fight this war. Where were you going with this?"

"Well your grace," The Instructor said, knees still on the ground. "I meant to go into a more granular, more detailed explanation behind the economics of the war. As you may know Prince, war is a… From a moral standpoint anything but a defensive…"

"Many great minds think war is immoral," the Prince said easily, swaggering down the lecture hall, step by step, until he turned, slid past several students, and gave Aida a smile as bright as the sun. "May I sit here?"

Aida nodded, unable to find his voice, as the crown Prince of the Fire Nation slid into the seat next to him. "Go on Instructor. Tell us what you have to say."

"Of course your grace," The Instructor said smoothly, rising to his feet.

"I did not say you could stand," the Prince said quietly, his voice slicing through the classroom's silence like a katana. His brow furrowed, arms crossed, the Prince was as stern as a King. Rumor had it that Prince Iroh was already the most powerful bender in the entire world. Yes, under this man's leadership, the Fire Nation was sure to spread to all four corners of the world. Nothing could stop them.

The Instructor paled and crumpled, his nose grinding against the polished wooden floor like a mop. "Apologies your grace. I-did-not-mean-any-"

The Prince chuckled. "You may rise Instructor."

"Yes your grace," the Instructor rose to his feet, paced back and forth across the front of the classroom, and took several steadying breaths. He wiped some sweat off his forehead, blinked a couple times, and opened his mouth. And closed it. Finally, he managed a few sentences. "The War is humanity's last chance for survival. The scourge of modern medicine has pushed us to the brink of extinction."

"Tread lightly Instructor," said the Prince. "There are those who could not survive without the wonders of science."

"And that is exactly the problem!" The Instructor said, some color returning to his face. "Daeshim, what was the population of the world one hundred years ago?"

"It's Aida," Aida said smoothly. "And approximately ten million sir."

"Fifty years ago?" Asked the Instructor.

"Thirty million sir."

"Twenty years ago?"

"Sixty million sir."

"And now?"

"Ninety million sir."

"Twenty years from now?"

"One hundred and thirty million is what most experts project, although some say as many as one point four hundred million while others say as little as one point two hundred million sir."

The Instructor smiled. "And my dearest little Air Nomad, how many people can our wonderful world feed?"

"Eighty million sir. But with more efficient transport of the guana reserves from the Southern Archipelagos some experts predict we could increase that amount to-"

"So we will have a deficit of approximately fifty million people," the Instructor said. "The world cannot support the population of both the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation. We fight this war because we have no choice. Now that every woman can give birth to a dozen children, and every sickling can grow to adulthood, humanity's growth has become exponential. It is imperative Prince, that you secure the Southern Archipelagos for the Fire Nation. They produce the guana we need for food production."

"I've misjudged you Instructor," said the Prince, his voice wistful and far away. "I thought you were like the nobles in the court. Power hungry. Cunning. Stupid. But you do care about your students and your argument displayed a remarkable amount of intelligence. You're also completely wrong."

"Oh," the Instructor said. He hung his head. "Forgive me your grace. I did not intend to mislead my students."

"No," the Prince shook his head. "You're telling them why we _should_ be fighting the war. That is far more valuable than why we are _actually_ fighting the war. Continue your lecture Instructor. You're doing good work." The Prince dipped his head, just a little. "May I take one of your students Instructor? I'd like to speak with him about a little drawing he made."

"Of course your grace."

"Well?" Prince Iroh asked, staring at Aida. "Shall we go?"

Aida nodded blankly and stumbled out of his seat.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading, especially because this entire chapter was literally about bat shit. Hope you liked it. I'm also going to finally update my other story, The Last Firebender, sometime this weekend.


	8. Chapter 8

"What is this?" Prince Iroh asked, unveiling the scroll Aida had submitted during his application process. He stretched it out across an entire table in the library, so the scroll's contents could be viewed all at once. The school had asked for an essay about how he would help the Fire Nation. Instead he'd given them a drawing. An idea. Tried to show what he could do rather than just tell them. "Can you tell me what it does?"

"Sir, it's a portable inhaler," Aida said. "It's meant to inject medicine into the lungs of soldiers with respiratory problems."

The Prince glared down at the scroll, golden eyes smoldering. "When you speak of respiratory problems what do you mean exactly?" Prince Iroh asked, the air around him shimmering. "Describe the symptoms."

"There are several proposed conditions of whom inhalers could treat but the most common by far is asthma." Aida said, warming to the subject as he always did when speaking of science. "The occurence of asthma will continue to grow in the future, as several studies have shown that air pollution, such as that from coal plants, can greatly increase the likelihood of contracting the disease. As such, soldiers will need to be prepared to treat the symptoms while in a march, when they don't have access to a nebulizer. That's where my invention comes in. An asthmatic general could simply squeeze the trigger, and get a spray of albuterol directly into their lungs, thus ceasing the attack and allowing them to return to combat."

Prince Iroh seemed unmoved. Bored. Angry almost.

"Of course," Aida's tongue flopped around his mouth, as his brain desperately searched for words. "It could also help soldiers in a march. This need not be an invention for only the wealthy. The inhaler could be scaled down, the parts could be made more modular and standard. I could redraw the blueprints, and use market available valves and cans. Think of how cheap it is to make a bicycle. How we already store war rations in tin cans. That's how easy it would be take this product and make it available to everyone who needs it."

"That is good," Prince Iroh said flatly. "But that is not what I asked. What is asthma?"

"Um," Aida scratched his head. Everyone knew what asthma was right? Certainly the crown prince would know all the common maladies that afflicted his subjects. "Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm."

Prince Iroh stood, and started to pace. "So it's a disease that makes it so you can't breathe. Am I understanding that correctly?"

"Of course your highness," Aida said.

"And you said it was reversible," Prince Iroh said, staring down at Aida, eyes aflame with passion. "That it can be cured?"

"I said it was reversible," Aida said. "I didn't say it could be cured. It can't."

"What does that mean?" Steam erupted from the Prince's nose. "No it's not important yet. First I must be sure. I must know." The Prince sat down, and leaned in, just beneath Aida's eye level. A willing supplication. Even if temporary, it was improper that the Prince yield his power to a pauper.

Aida got out of his seat and bowed.

"Rise Aida," commanded Prince Iroh. "I wish to know your opinion on the matter. I know of a young boy who I suspect has asthma. He cannot run. He cannot fight. He cannot firebend. If he does any of these things, he is beset by a fit of coughing. He… His skin turned blue the last time he tried to go through a simple kata- Father was so angry! He cannot see that it is not Ozai's fault! He cannot see what it does to him!" Flames erupted from Iroh's hands. "The next time he has an accident I'm afraid that he will die! I tell him that it doesn't matter, but he doesn't believe me! Of course he doesn't! Not when Father is whispering poison in his…" The Prince took a long breath and calmed himself. "Well… Do those symptoms sound like asthma?"

"Yes," Aida said.

"And would your invention help?" The Prince asked, leaning forward hungrily.

"Yes," Aida said. "But... Permission to speak freely sir?"

"I command it," the Prince said. "Tell me everything you know. Hold nothing back."

"My invention is based on the works of a brilliant doctor and the inventor of the nebulizer named Kojiro. He lives in the countryside and has a working prototype which has already undergone human testing. If the life of Prince Ozai, the Fire Nation's only spare, is at risk, I would highly recommend that you use Kojiro's more proven technology rather than my own."

"Ozai is more than a spare," Prince Iroh roared, steam billowing from his hands. "Do not speak of my younger brother in such a manner!"

Such rage! Such authority! Such power! The Prince was the archetypal Fire Nation royal. Aida bowed. "Never again your highness."

The Prince frowned. "No need to bow. It is you who helped me today. I shall take your advice and find this Kojiro. Thank you… Your name?"

"Aida," said Aida proudly. He'd been useful to the Prince! He'd proven his worth to the purest human embodiment of the Fire Nation. What a day! What a wonderful day!

"I know that already," said Prince Iroh. "I'd like your true name."

Oh. So that's what he meant. He wouldn't like it, but the Prince had commanded he be honest.

"It's Aida," Aida whispered. "My true name is Aida."

The Prince would be angry. He'd suspect Aida of foul play for not revealing his Air Nomad name. Perhaps he'd even disregard the rest of Aida's advice. Perhaps by telling the truth Aida had killed the young Prince Ozai.

"Is that so?" Prince Iroh held out his hand. "Well Aida. The Fire Nation is lucky to have you."

Why were his eyes wet? Why did his heart feel so full? Why did it feel like he was seeing the world for the first time? Why was he trembling? Aida took Iroh's hand, and gave his soul to the Fire Nation. It was a small price to pay for a home. For a country to call his own.

And perhaps it was this quiet moment of acceptance which led to the devotion that followed. Perhaps in a different world, the Chemist's youthful nationalism would fade. Perhaps in a different world he would have been less obsessive. More humane. Less dangerous. Perhaps an accident that took his son's legs, a disease that took his wife from him, could have mellowed him to the point where he would take his Father's advice and leave the Fire Nation forever. Perhaps in another world.

But not this one.


	9. Chapter 9

"Why can't he be more like his sisters?" Father asked. His voice, raspy and high, reminded Aida of the Instructor's when he dealt with an especially slow student. "Numbers and science. Science and numbers. Everything has to be so damn precise with him. He's an Air Nomad Pema, he oughta know what that means."

"Have you ever considered that he might be right Jinpa?" Mother asked sleepily. Aida smiled. Mother was always on his side. "Maybe the Fire Nation has changed. Maybe he really can rise up in the-"

"Oh please," said Father. "Not you too. Pema, you know how they look at us. That school of his is a waste of time. He should be here, helping me run the shop. Soaking up trade secrets. He needs to learn a profession."

"Maybe you're right," said Mother easily. "So what? Let him discover the world for himself. What's the harm?"

Aida pressed his ear against the door. Mother and Father hadn't realized the differences between their old house and the new. Back in the Earth Kingdom, walls were big and thick, made out of mud and bricks. In the Fire Nation they were thin and hollow, made out of paper and wood. Could hear right through 'em. It was nice to get them. Unvarnished opinions. He'd always hypothesized that Father was a paranoid, short-sighted, coward, and it was nice to finally get supporting verbal evidence.

"Right now things are good," said Father. "The Fire Nation will probably tolerate us until things turn. Then we'll see what they really think of us."

"And what makes you think things will turn?" Mother asked. "Remember the Earth Kingdom? It was so primitive there. So poor. They can barely feed themselves, let alone fight off Fire Nation steel."

Well, Mother had always been the smarter one.

"Things will turn," Father said confidently. "The world will balance. It always does. Just look at history: there was a time when Chin the Conqueror seemed unstoppable, but his conquest fell apart."

Aida rolled his eyes. Father always liked to compare current events with old ones. Foolish, foolish, the conditions were nothing alike.

"Because of the Avatar," Mother said. "Balance was, and always has been, maintained by the Avatar. But he's vanished. As gone as our airbending."

There was a sad silence. It was one of the few things Aida shared with his Father. The love of airbending. The forms, the philosophy, it was the only part of their people that Aida truly admired. The element of freedom! What a treat it would be to dance and glide in the sky! When he'd been a child he'd dreamt of being an airbender like the legendary Monk Gyatso! The forms he could discover, the things he would do! Air was seen as a defensive elements, but Aida knew how to make it deadly. How he could make it the most offensive element! But the air, as it did with all Air Nomads, had ignored his call. Air bending had become as inert as the Nitrogen within it. There hadn't been an airbender since the purge.

"He'll come back," Father said stubbornly. "Someday the Avatar will return. And then everything will change."

"Avatar Aang is dead," Mother said bluntly.

"Aang disappeared before they butchered our people," Father said, sounding almost as desperate as he did pathetic. "The records showed that he…"

Aida hated that his Father was a fool. Father had this dumb conspiracy theory. The idiot thought that the Avatar had run from his responsibilities after being informed of his status, had been caught in a storm, and used his Avatar powers to freeze himself in time. That the Avatar was floating around, cocooned in an iceberg, waiting for some dolt to stir him from his slumber. Aida was willing to concede that it was possible. It was well known among Air Nomads that the Avatar had been a young boy named Aang who had disappeared the night after being informed he was the Avatar. It was true that a hurricane had ravaged the South Pole on that very same date. But there were several more plausible explanations. That the Avatar had run and hid. That the Avatar had been killed in the storm. That the entire story had been made up by an Air Nomad elder trying to boost morale. All were more plausible than Father's sad little theory.

"...And the gods are waiting for him to find the perfect partners. The perfect companions to guide the Avatar," Father concluded. "Probably a waterbender, to guide him with the next element, and a scientist, to usher him into the modern world."

Mother giggled. "And you wonder where Daeshim gets his delusions from."

Aida sniffed. He was not delusional. The Fire Nation would eventually accept their people.

"I am not delusional," Father squawked. "The Avatar will return someday!"

"You're such a dreamer Jinpa," Mother said fondly, and the bed groaned. There were some squeaking sounds, and even a soft moan. Aida took it as a cue to leave, and walked out of his parents' house.

So what if father still disapproved of his education? So what if his mother didn't believe in him? The important thing was that he had a couple bronze coins in his pouch and the bar was only a few blocks away. He'd talk to a few Fire Nation women, get rejected a couple eh' times, and get very, very drunk.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note:** There's a little bit of swearing in this chapter.

"And finish the Fire Lord Sozin's Musings by tomorrow," said the Instructor. "And before you brats ask, I don't care that the Fire Nation Ball is tonight. We're at war dammit! This is no time for parties."

Ozai snickered.

The Instructor sighed. "Fine. No homework today. You boys have fun."

The class erupted into cheers. Except for Michi. She shriveled up like a dried wallflower. Good, good.

"Tomorrow you're getting double," the Instructor gasped, but nobody was listening. The students charged out of the classroom and into the courtyard, where they broke up into several cliques. The powerful kids, the rich kids, the lookers, the losers, and Aida. And Michi.

Michi sniffed and pouted. "Frickin' Ukano."

"He's just scared," Aida said casually. Or at least he hoped it was casual. For his plan to work he couldn't sound excited. "He likes you. It's just that you're…"

"Unpopular?" Michi asked. "Strange? Weird? Manly? What's so wrong about wanting an education? Shouldn't it be a good thing that I want to make something of myself?"

"It is," Aida agreed easily. "It's new though. Once a few years have passed, once they get used to the idea, they'll see its wisdom. I think Ukano already sees it. But it's still early. He doesn't want to lose his friends you know? It's hard doing what's right when it's unpopular."

"I don't see what's so hard about it," Michi said bitterly. "Compared to being this school's first girl it should be easy. If he actually cared, he'd have asked me out."

Breathe in. Breathe out. Control, Aida kept himself under control, as he planted a verbal trap. "So you'd do things differently? You'd ignore what everyone said, and go out with whoever you wanted?"

"Of course," Michi said.

"Then let's go to the Ball togeth…" Aida stopped, as a lump went up his throat. Michi looked like she'd been gutted by an Earth Bender, her face had gone pale, her beautiful golden eyes as wide as dinner plates.

"I…" Michi said. "I don't know if that would be a good idea."

"Oh." Aida's head had never been so empty. So clear of thoughts. "I see."

"It's just, you're a great… It's stupid Aida. The Ball is stupid don't you think? We shouldn't feel compelled to conform to societal norms. All my friends think I'm a loser because I don't have a date. Don't you think that's horrible? A woman's worth shouldn't be determined by what a man thinks of her. I can contribute, I know I can. And you can too, don't you see Aida? We've got to change the Fire Nation from within. Let's reject the Ball, let's not go. I've got an idea, why don't we go to the library and study? Let's come up with an invention. Something that can change the world. How 'bout that Aida?"

"Yeah," Aida muttered. "Sounds great."

Why wouldn't Michi look at him? And who was the ugly boy, standing next to them. What did he want?

"Will you go to the Ball with me?" The boy asked Michi. He was short, ugly, and from what Aida knew of him, unpopular and stupid.

But he had golden eyes, so it came as no surprise when Michi, the girl he'd had a crush on for his entire adolescence, answered with a simple "Yes."

Aida ran home, his mind still strangely silent, his eyes wet. And suddenly there he was, in front of the ole' dying shack. It was fairly spacious, two stories tall, with lines of clothes strewn about in the yard.

Sometimes… Sometimes he wished they'd never moved from the Earth Kingdom. Sometimes he wished he'd never known the riches the Fire Nation had to offer. The science the mathematics, he wished he'd never been introduced to them. He could no longer be satisfied with that life. He could no longer be a dier.

Everything seemed pointless now.

"Daeshim, Daeshim what's wrong?" Mother asked, herding him inside the house.

"Nothing," Aida insisted.

"What's wrong with big brother?" asked Zonpa, his youngest sister.

"He must've finally realized that the Fire Nation is evil," said Cimba, his other sister, cruelly. "And it's about damn time!"

Mother shushed her. "Seriously Daeshim, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Aida tried to smile for Zonpa. It didn't work. The three females recoiled, like frightened bunny-squirrels. "I'm fine."

"Girls," Father said, emerging from the kitchen with a bottle of amber fluid. "Why don't you go get some candy?"

"Well?" Father asked, once his Mother and sisters had left. "You want to talk about it?"

"No," said Aida.

"Fair enough," Father said. "Want a sip?" He offered Aida the whiskey.

"Isn't it against our beliefs?" Father always hated it when he went to the bars.

Father shrugged. "Sometimes you need it."

Aida took the bottle, and sucked in some of the amber nectar. It tasted like wood and burned his throat. He enjoyed the fire it lit in his belly, but he didn't really feel any better.

"You want to be alone?" Father asked.

Aida nodded, and moved to give the whiskey back to Father.

Father shook it off. "Keep it. I'll see you in the morning. Go do something fun. Try and get your mind off it."


	11. Chapter 11

It would be a lie to say the library wasn't fun. That it didn't get his mind off things. Aida hated to admit it, but Father was right. He just couldn't be that sad when he was surrounded by scrolls, by the familiar smell of old paper, by the works of delightfully brilliant men.

It was a horrible day, the worst Aida had had in a long time, but it was still a wonderful time to be alive! In what other age would he be able to learn of bat-pigeons? That for their population to explode they needed three things found only in the Southern Archipelagoes: bugs, caves, and a lack of predators. They lived in large groups, and produced hundreds of thousands of tons of fertilizer every year, that was processed and shipped to the rest of the world. Indeed these humble bat-pigeons provided the backbone of modern day civilization.

It was cool. Fun. A neat little fact. But Aida didn't have to settle. No, this little delve into bat-pigeons opened the doors to a broader more interesting subject. What made bat-pigeon poo such good fertilizer? Why couldn't human fecal matter be a replacement? The great thing about the library was that such questions could be answered easily. All he needed was another scroll.

Aida slid out of his seat, and skipped to the non fiction shelf. He ticked his fingers past several scrolls, until he found just the study he was looking for. _Fertilizer: A Crop's Scat_. On his way back to his table he heard a muffled sob. A big burly man sat by himself, head buried against the table, romantic scrolls scattered about.

Aida gasped and bowed. "Prince Iroh."

"Ah Aida," Prince Iroh said, eyes wet and red. "Thank you for your recommendation. I was able to find Kojiro and bring his invention to Ozai. My brother's health is finally improving."

"You honor me my Prince," said Aida. "If ever you need my help you need only ask."

"I will keep that in mind," said the Prince sharply. The big man returned to his scrolls leaving Aida to his pursuit of poo.

But Aida found he couldn't focus. He'd look up and see the big Prince staring intensely at his scroll. Not rolling it one way or another. Just glaring at a single sentence, burning it into his mind. Aida tried to focus more on his scrolls, on how most fertilizers were composed of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium. How chemical processes had recently been discovered to isolate Phosphorus and Potassium from common compounds found in soil everywhere in the world. On how Iroh was sobbing again. No not quite sobbing. Muffled whimpers more like. How was such a thing possible?

Perhaps it was because today was the Fire Nation Ball. Perhaps the Prince had been heartbroken. But if so, why was he surrounding himself with romance books. Wouldn't the Fire Lord have told the young Prince to pursuit a passion, as Aida's Father had? Science was not Iroh's passion, of that Aida was sure, but why not go through some firebending katas? Perhaps a game of Pai Sho with the little brother he seemed so fond of? Why wasn't Iroh with friends? Unless…

But no it couldn't be. Prince Iroh was nothing like himself. He was the greatest firebender the world had ever seen, the scion to its most powerful nation, he had nothing in common with a dyer's son from the Earth Kingdom.

"Why aren't you at the Ball?" Aida finally asked.

Iroh glared. "Why aren't you?"

"Because…" For some reason Aida found that he couldn't answer. He didn't want Iroh to know it was because nobody wanted to go with him. "I am an Air Nomad." Aida said confidently. "This is a celebration for the Fire Nation people. It's not my place to participate."

"I see." Iroh blinked and rubbed his eyes. "You got turned down too?"

Aida balked, and tried to answer. Unfortunately his tongue refused to form coherent sentences.

A small smile found its way onto Iroh's lips. The large man flopped out of his chair, swaggered over to a large map of the world draped over an entire corner of the library, and ripped it down. He spread it across the floor and motioned Aida to come over. He flipped a dozen golden coins onto the Southern Archipelagos, twenty seven silver coins, and a few bronze ones.

"Gold is steel Fire Nation ships, Silver is the Earth Kingdom's wooden warships, and bronze is Water Tribe Canoes," said Iroh cheerfully. "We've got to find a way to win."

"Ships are made of wood," said Aida. "Just burn 'em."

"Ah yes," said Iroh. "I've not explained the problem. It's not the Earth Kingdom ships, it's the three bronze coins. They've got waterbenders and they're near impossible to beat in the open seas."

"Why?"

"They're faster than us. They can clog our engines with seaweed and scurry away before we can react."

Aida frowned. Unlikely. Impossible. Aw yes that must be it. Iroh must have meant that the waterbenders were clogging the motors. Likely the propeller. "Couldn't you just build the boats with sails?"

"Not a bad idea, but they'd be an easy target for archers. They'd be to easy to burn down. What we need is something more maneuverable."

Aida sat down. "A smaller ship then?" He already had several ideas in his head. But the problem with a more individualized boat was that coal, the Fire Nation's primary energy source, was spectacularly inefficient. A single ship required hundreds of pounds of coal to power its engines. Fine for freight; not so good for what he had in mind. "Something small and fast, that can be deployed from a Fire Nation Battleship?"

"Yes," Iroh said. "If we could give chase to those waterbenders we could crush them like bugs."

"An internal combustion engine," said Aida. "And a liquid powersource. Some kinda oil most likely. But lion-turtle oil is rare. Hard to find. Need something more common."

Iroh squinted. "This has been a problem for years. Our best scientists have come up with nothing, and you're telling me-"

"Best scientists?" Aida asked. "I thought my old Instructor was still teaching at that dingy old school I used to go to." Aida shook his head. Iroh was many things but an evaluator of scientists he was not. If the royal doctors couldn't diagnose a simple case of asthma well… "What I'm telling you is…"

Aida closed his mouth and started drawing. The key would be the power source. The jets in his little boat would require a lot of power to work correctly.

"So small? Is it really possible?" Iroh frowned. "I don't think a wheel would be a good way of controlling these beasts. Very few soldiers have actually steered a boat before, and we don't have time to train them. We need something more intuitive. Something they can just pick up and use."

Aida nodded, and replaced the steering wheel with a pair of handlebars. Everyone had ridden a bicycle before.

"And this will really work?" Iroh asked, picking up the drawing.

"If you get an internal combustion engine, and an oil of some kind, your firebenders will be dancing around the water like they're on a pair of skis."

"Father will be pleased." Iroh rolled up the drawing. "You can expect a big reward for your contributions to the war effort."

Aida shook his head. "Don't tell him it was me."

"Why?"

"You know why." Gray eyes met gold.

"Yes." Iroh sighed, and turned to leave the library. "But Aida. The Fire Nation will be different when I rule. There will be a place for you. I promise you that as your Prince."

"I'm not Fire Nation," Aida said. "That was made clear to me today. You're not my Prince."

Iroh chuckled. "As a friend then."

Aida nodded. "I'm counting on it Iroh."


	12. Chapter 12

"Daeshim! Hey Daeshim!"

Aida picked up his pace. The pristine roads near the Royal Fire Nation Academy had finally given way to the gravel roads of the Air Nomad ghetto. He was only a few blocks from home. He didn't want to talk. Not to him.

"I know you can hear me!" A clearly drunk Ukano caught up to him and grabbed his shoulder.

Ukano had broken Michi's heart. The girl had thought he was interested, but instead Ukano had asked a younger girl to the Fire Nation Ball. The prettiest girl. Ursa. For once in Ukano's mediocre life, he'd been the talk of the town. Personally, Aida didn't understand what either girl saw in the young man. He wasn't handsome like Zhao, powerful like Iroh, or even intelligent like Aida himself. Ukano graded average to below average in every evaluation metric towards picking a mate.

"You're the only one who could understand," Ukano wailed.

"Understand what?"

"Michi, she was having a good time," Ukano hiccuped. His breath smelled like stale fermented grain. "I thought that when Yoshida asked her out, she'd only said yes because she was desperate!"

"Good for her," Aida said stiffly.

"She was talking to the other girls, dancing with boys, she wasn't like herself at all!"

"I'm glad she had a good time."

"No," Ukano cried. "This is horrible! She only likes me because she thinks she's unpopular. If she realizes how great she is, I'll have no chance with her!"

Annoying. Ukano was acting like he was the main character in one of those single bronze romantic scrolls that Aida's little sister liked so much. Selfish. Emotionally unstable. Whiny. But most of all annoying. "If you were interested, you should've asked her to the ball yourself."

"I would've," Ukano complained, stumbling over his feet. "After I asked out Ursa to show that I had good taste in women. I didn't think that she'd actually say yes."

"That must've been terrible for you. Having to go to the ball with the prettiest girl in the Fire Nation."

"It was! I wanted to go with Michi! But if I asked her out first, all the guys would make fun of me. I had to make it look like a last resort."

"Why?"

"Because if I didn't, all the guys would make fun of me!"

"So?"

"So?" Ukano took an offended step back, and inspected Aida like he was a new species of termite-ant. "Those aren't my friends Aida. They're my superiors, don't you get it?"

Aida thought on that. Yes, it did make sense. He supposed he'd always thought that people like Ukano, average folk, had delusions of grandeur. He'd never even considered the possibility that Ukano was aware of his own mediocrity, and strategized for his future accordingly. What a marvelous way to live it must be! Having to be aware of the ramifications of every action, knowing that your fate was controlled by the opinion of others. In many ways, it would take more intelligence to navigate such a world.

"I wish I could just ask Michi out like you did. But for me it's not that simple. Zhao doesn't like her. So I can't like her, because I need Zhao to like me. It's important. That's what my dad says. He says that if I want to be successful, I need Zhao to like me. That's all dad ever talks about! Making it big! He doesn't care about me anymore, not after I got accepted to that ashing school! He doesn't care that Zhao's a piece of ember. A monster. That fucking rich kid is a psychopath, and sometimes I think the rest of 'em are too. I don't know anymore Daeshim, who's pretending and who actually likes acting like this? How many of them actually like this fuckin' piece of ember country. Fuck the Fire Nation! Burn it-"

Aida clamped Ukano's mouth shut. Luckily the street was empty. Nobody had heard his treason. "You can't just go saying things like that. We're in the Air Nomad part of town. If the Fire Nation hears whispers of rebellion, they'll raze us all to the ground. Nod if you understand?"

Ukano nodded, tears in his eyes. "I hate it here," he whispered. "The Fire Nation is evil. I'd rather live anywhere else."

"The Fire Nation is the greatest country in the history of the world," Aida said. "There's nowhere I'd rather live."

"I thought you'd understand because you were an Air Nomad."

"You've just never lived anywhere else. You don't understand the world."

"You're the one who doesn't understand _Aida_," Ukano spat. "You've got a rich family. You're living in the good side of town. You're a genius. You'll never understand what the world is like for an average Fire Nation citizen like me, much less an average Air Nomad."

Then the drunk hobbled away. Finally.

Aida sighed. Ukano was right. He didn't understand the common man. And yet Aida didn't care.

Not one bit.

**Author's Note: **Thanks for reading! And thanks for keeping with this story for so long, unfortunately this story will be on hiatus for a little while, so that I can focus on finishing my other story The First Firebender as quickly as possible. 


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